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Left-wing councillors on different sides of debate over controversial Toronto Public Library event

The city needs stronger policies to govern the use of community spaces, according to two city councillors who plan to raise the issue at the next council meeting.

Their motion directly targets the Toronto Public Library and the board, which voted this week not to back down from allowing feminist Meghan Murphy, who holds controversial views on transgender issues, to speak at Palmerston Library Theatre.

While left-wing councillor Coun. Gordon Perks supports Wong-Tam’s motion, he thinks Murphy should be allowed to speak at the library, after City Librarian, Vickery Bowles, reviewed the application, sought two legal opinions on the matter, and was told there were no legal grounds to bar Murphy.

“I believe deeply in the rights of gender identity and gender expression and have been proud to use my office to support the struggle to win those rights. I will continue to work to see that those rights are respected,” wrote Perks on his website gordperks.ca, which he linked to from Twitter.

“I also believe that libraries are a cornerstone of a free and open democratic society and that that role rests on a broad application of the principles of free speech.”

Mayor John Tory meanwhile, a former leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, has voiced his disappointment with the library’s position, saying officials should use the “highest of standards” to ensure that public buildings not become a place where “offensive commentary” is permitted.

The topic of Murphy’s lecture on Oct. 29 is: “Gender Identity: What does it mean for society, the law and women?”

Critics have labelled Murphy as anti-trans and transphobic because she has said, among other things, that trans women shouldn’t be allowed to compete in sporting events against non-trans women, or use women’s change rooms.

Wong-Tam said the point is to ensure that requests for use of public spaces are met with rigorous scrutiny. City spaces are largely free and were meant to be used by community groups and members of the public to hold general public meetings, not for commercial purposes, or to promote ideas that could be harmful to people who are protected under the charter, Wong-Tam said.

“Publicly owned facilities have to be held to a different level of scrutiny,” said Wong-Tam. “We do have to hold ourselves to a higher account than if they were to book a space in a bar or a restaurant or a hotel meeting room.”

The motion to be put before council next week cites research that has found that people in the trans community are often the target of violence and harassment in Canada.

Wong-Tam added that obtaining legal opinions is not enough — what the community has to say needs to be taken into account as well.

Pride Toronto is organizing a trans rally on Oct. 29 to protest Murphy’s appearance. The rally is slated to begin at 7 p.m. at Church St. and Hayden St. and proceed to Allan Gardens.

Ana-Maria Critchley, a spokesperson for Toronto Public Library, said it undertook a thorough review of their community and event space rental policy in 2017. The review considered the library’s legal obligations under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms; the position statements of the American Library Association and the Canadian Federation of Library Associations and the library’s mission to preserve and promote access to knowledge while also considering feedback from the public and other stakeholders.

It engaged an external law firm to review the policy and the review included input from an Osgoode Hall constitutional lawyer. It examined relevant legislation and pertinent City of Toronto policies, including the vision statement and anti-harassment policies.

“Based on our rigorous review and additional validation from external legal counsel and the Osgoode Hall constitutional lawyer, the current policy is sound,” according to Critchley.

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“I think if the city has these spaces available to the public, you have to have a good reason for deciding that some segment of the public can’t have access to that space and it can’t just be that they have something to say that we don’t like or disagree with,” said Cara Faith Zwibel, director, Fundamental Freedoms Program, Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

Francine Kopun is a Toronto-based reporter covering city hall and municipal politics. Follow her on Twitter: @KopunF

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